A Jewish charter school sued Oklahoma this week over its denial of the school’s application to the state’s charter school program, less than a year after the Supreme Court punted on the constitutionality of taxpayer-funded religious charter schools.
The National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, claiming the denial of the school’s admission to the state charter school program violates the free exercise clause of the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
“This is therefore a simple case—can Oklahoma arbitrarily exclude religious people from the charter school program? The Constitution says no,” the lawsuit reads. “For relief from these constitutional violations, Plaintiffs seek a declaration and injunction against Oklahoma’s unlawful policy and nominal damages, so they can open their school and serve Oklahoman children.”
Peter Deutsch, founder of the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation, accused Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond of “keeping our doors locked simply because of our faith-based character.”
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is backing the Jewish school in its bid to get a charter in Oklahoma, with Eric Baxter, senior counsel at Becket and attorney for the foundation at the center of the lawsuit, saying he believes federal law protecting religious rights is on their side.
“Attorney General Drummond can’t blacklist schools for being religious while welcoming everyone else with open arms,” Baxter said in a statement. “That kind of religious hostility is unlawful, unjust, and utterly at odds with decades of Supreme Court precedent. We’re going to court to vindicate Ben Gamla’s right to equal treatment under the law.”
The lawsuit was filed less than a year after the Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 in a similar case brought by a Catholic virtual school that appealed an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that had blocked the approval of the charter for the school due to its religious affiliation. The high court’s deadlock meant that the lower court’s ruling remained in place, and there was no precedent set by the Supreme Court in the matter.
The split occurred after Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case. While Barrett did not cite a specific reason for recusal, legal analysts speculated the decision stemmed from her personal ties to Nicole Garnett, a Notre Dame law professor and early legal adviser to the Catholic school whose case made its way to the Supreme Court.
SUPREME COURT DEADLOCKED ON OKLAHOMA CATHOLIC CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING CASE
For the issue to return to the Supreme Court, the lawsuit filed by the National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation would have to work its way through the federal district and appeals courts before it could be petitioned to the high court.
The case in the federal district court was assigned to Judge David Lynn Russel, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan. An initial hearing in the case has yet to be scheduled.